Light from Darkness, Flowers from Ash
by Seldavia
Summary: Post BotW. Even with the Calamity gone, it will take much to rebuild Hyrule out of the ashes. Yet the Princess and her Hero are more than ready for the task. As Zelda takes a new approach at ruling, Link searches for old memories.
1. Chapter 1

_Freedom!_

Zelda spread her arms wide, taking in the cool breeze and the soft warmth of the sun. For so long she had been held captive; first by tradition, social standing, and protocol, and then in the literal sense by an all-encompassing malice. But now she rode through the grassy plains of Hyrule, her closest friend by her side, welcoming the challenge ahead of her. When you hit rock bottom, Impa once said, you have nowhere to go but up.

The land looked feral. The once-grand castle and Temple of Time stood in ruins, tufts of grass poking up through bricks, giving the overall impression of a bad haircut. Just in the vicinity of the castle she could see once-bustling settlements standing stark against the sky, burnt wooden beams rising upward like the bones of the Leviathans. Much like herself, the land had been stripped of its frills and furbelows, a picture of ruined finery symbolized in the tattered white dress she still wore when freed from Ganons' grasp.

But it was so very _alive_.

The trill of birdsong curled in her ears. Deer and wild boar bolted through the grass. Within the sea of emerald green, every once and a while she would spot a smudge of blue and white. The Silent Princess, once at the edge of extinction, had sprung up like mushrooms after the rain. She believed it was an omen – a good omen, after so many bad ones.

Still, a small part of her brain needled at her, telling her she was too happy, that the hundred years of suffering she had endured was not enough to absolve her responsibility in the deaths of her people, her friends, and her father. _Do you rejoice that your freedom comes from your father's demise? Have you such hatred in your soul?_

She had heard many similar taunts, while suspended in time inside a being of pure evil. All of them aimed at breaking her resolve, extinguishing her light. She learned early on that her best chance at survival was not in trying to overcome it, but matching it word by word, force by force. Mind, body, and soul, she spent every moment matching its power with her own.

And in the process, the febrile evil had taught her something valuable.

It was something she'd read in one of the old books, a quote from one of her ancestors; a statement about darkness and light being two sides of the same coin. One could not have good without evil, hero without villain. The brightest of lights shone in the darkest of times.

Her ancestors had sealed away Ganon, and so had attempted to seal away all evil. Such a thing was impossible. The Yiga were born of the same people who had created those seals, the darkness finding entry in their hearts when they were shunned by the common folk; the common folk themselves invited that darkness when gripped by fear of the unknown. And so, Ganon had emerged once again, using the shackles he had been chained with as weapons.

This time things would be different. Zelda had a new vision for her nation, one that did not involve her perched high upon a throne, looking down her nose at the rest of the world. Her excitement began to build as her plan took form in her mind.

It might have been dismissed as hubris, but she took heart that her companion felt the same way. On that horrible day, when they had fled the castle and she had dissolved in tears of despair, he let her shed a few tears as she held on to him, seeking something solid after everything had blown away.

But after a few moments, he pulled her to her feet. "Princess, we must go."

"I can't!" Zelda had cried, trying to wipe tears and rain from her eyes. "It hurts too much…I can't go on."

She stared up into his eyes, pleading, and saw his gaze flick from her to the growing darkness behind them. "We must. It's coming."

"What difference does it make?!" Zelda shouted in anger born of misery. "Everyone we care about is dead, and it won't be long before It kills us too. What's the point of running? Where are we going to go?"

"We must," he repeated, and held out his hand. "Where there is life, there is hope."

She took both his hand and his words to heart. With the world crumbling around them, they hurried on, and he continued to defend her until he could barely stand. When that Guardian had targeted him, she had seen Death reflected in his eyes, and suddenly everything else fell away. The coldness that had gripped her heart since her mother died melted away, and something burst forth.

A bright light in a dark place.

And now, with so much life around them, they both held so much hope for the future.

* * *

She was happy. And that was a rare thing.

Link's memory was still very spotty, but he knew that Zelda's happiness was not something he had seen very often. Sadness, yes, and anger as well. But there had been only a very few times when unbridled joy had shone on her face. It hadn't left since she had returned, and he was glad of it.

Zelda had promised that after they had paid their respects to the Zora king, they would visit the Shekiah in Kakariko and Hateno and see if anything could be done. He had made many new friends in his adventures, and there were certainly things from his past that he wouldn't mind forgetting. But his loss of memory made him feel alien, as if he were a traveler to this land, not born of it. As well as he knew Hyrule now, he wanted to remember how it had once been.

If for no other reason than the fact that he wanted to remember more of Zelda.

They had been very close, Impa had said. This showed in the few memories he had recovered. He could feel unconsciously a bond between himself and the Princess, but that too felt strangely alien. As if she were a long-lost relative from his childhood.

Link kept his eyes open as they rode along, scouting ahead. There were still monsters here and there; Zelda said that they would eventually die off, with no blood moon to resurrect them. He had not seen a single Yiga, after being harassed by them for so long; he did not know if they had died along with Ganon or simply dispersed, seeking another foul god to follow.

But aside from monsters, he also sought things to jog his memory. From what the Zora had told him, he had grown up on the outskirts of their domain, until he was old enough to join his father as a knight. The young Zora all recognized him, yet he still had trouble matching names to faces.

Suddenly he saw something that sparked an image in the dark recesses of his mind. "That one!" he said, pointing to a rock in the distance. Zelda halted her horse and looked at him expectantly. Unlike her father, she was not one to state that servants should only speak when spoken to. Still, he felt no need to throw words away. "That rock. That's where I met Mipha. I broke my leg."

Zelda turned toward the innocuous-looking boulder. "What happened? Don't tell me that thing rolled over you!"

Link shook his head. "We were playing. Pretending to be Rito. I tied some bedsheets and jumped off."

"Honestly?" Zelda could not help but laugh. "How old were you?"

"Three? Maybe four?"

"Goddesses, Link, were you always this reckless?"

"Mother would say, I gave her a new gray hair each day." He grimaced slightly at the memory. "I was so bad. The other kids ran off to find a grown-up…they came back with Mipha." He scratched his head for a while, then frowned. "And…that's all I remember."

"Don't force it, Link." Zelda spoke gently. "It'll come."

"Oh!" Link dismounted and began rummaging around in the pack on the horse's back. "I almost forgot…I should wear this." He pulled out the armor Mipha had made for him. He yanked off his shirt and glanced up to see Zelda pointedly looking away. "Sorry…I'm used to being alone."

"No, it's just…I feel responsible, that's all."

"Oh?" He looked down at himself, still surprised to see the crisscross of scars on his body. He knew where they came from, yet he did not remember the pain of those wounds. Just one of the things he was more than willing to forget. "Not your fault."

"That's a beautiful outfit," Zelda said, eager to change the subject. "Did the King give it to you?"

"No. They said…Mipha made it for me." He frowned deeper, lost in thought.

They said that Mipha had loved him. Apparently it had been so obvious that all the male Zora held a grudge for a hundred years. Link didn't remember any of this. When the few images he had of her came to mind, he saw an elder sister. He felt he was not honoring her memory well enough. If she had felt this way, shouldn't he have felt something in return? Or maybe he did, and had forgotten?

"Link, are you all right?" He looked up to see Zelda staring at him, concern written all over her face.

He nodded, and mounted his horse, then nudged it forward. Zelda followed without a word. He appreciated that she would let him be silent when he wanted to. More than once the king had commanded him to speak.

Mipha's ghost still haunted him, even though he felt it would pain her to know that. He'd already made up his mind to use a month's worth of words and talk it over with Prince Sidon.

The ghosts of all the Champions still followed him, and he couldn't move on until he had put them to rest.


	2. Chapter 2

The exquisite ice-blue bridges and archways of Zora's Domain still took Zelda's breath away. Her castle had been impressive, but also built primarily with defense in mind, brute force its main deterrent. The sharp, glittering towers of Zora's domain were elegant as well as functional.

The Zora had no stables, so Link and Zelda staked their horses under a small outcrop near the main bridge. As they approached the square, the guards called out to Link with an air of familiarity. Zelda gave him a brief smile. "Are they the ones that you were playing with when you broke your leg?" He nodded sheepishly.

"Who is your friend, Link?" one of them asked. Zelda looked taken aback, perhaps forgetting that she was in her traveling clothes.

"This is Princess Zelda," he answered. The guards exchanged looks, clearly confused over proper protocol.

"The King and Prince will be happy to see you, Link," one offered. "I'm sure they'll be pleased to meet the Princess as well."

The traveling pair passed through, and entered the square, where the people milling around smiled and waved at Link. Zelda walked up to the statue of Mipha, and bowed as if before a grave. "I'm sorry," she murmured.

Link put a hand on her shoulder. "King Dorephan and Prince Sidon are up there," he said, pointing to the stairway.

"All right." Zelda straightened her clothes and took a deep breath. She erased the nervousness from her face with a benign smile. "I'm ready."

They climbed the staircase to see both the King and Prince in a deep discussion with Muzu, the advisor. It was Prince Sidon who first noticed them. "Ah, Link! A pleasure to see you, as always! And you've brought a friend with you!"

King Dorephan squinted at the pair, then inclined his head slightly. "Lady Zelda! It pleases me to see you alive and well."

Link caught a smirk from Muzu, but said nothing. Zelda had told him to expect this. "King Dorephan," she returned with an equally slight incline of her head. "It warms my heart to see that after so much has changed, you remain the same as ever." She motioned toward her companion. "Link came to speak with his friend the Prince, but I am here on business."

After Link and Prince Sidon departed, Zelda walked up to the platform before the King and bowed slightly. "I've paid my respects to your daughter, and wish to express my deepest sorrow and heartfelt gratitude."

"Pft," Muzu said, just loud enough to hear.

"I know you have endured many trials of your own, Lady Zelda," the King replied solemnly. "My sorrow has been tempered by the knowledge that Mipha helped eliminate Ganon from this world. Now, let us speak of happier things."

"I too wish to look toward the future," Zelda replied. "That is the point of my journey here today. I wish to speak to you about the future of Hyrule."

"Under _your_ domain, I suppose, _Lady_ Zelda?" Muzu demanded, unable to stay silent any longer.

"Actually, no." Zelda fought to keep the smile from spreading across her face as both Zora were taken aback. "My style is different than my father's. And we are living in very different times."

She cleared her throat and readied the speech she had prepared on the way. "For eons, Hyrule's royal family has served as the head of this nation. It was founded by my ancestors, who went so far as to claim a Goddess among _their_ ancestors. It was the protection of this Goddess that gave them the legitimacy of a ruling hand.

"But that protection has not been sufficient," Zelda went on, her eyes hardening ever so slightly as she spoke these words. "No one knows this better than myself. In addition, for the hundred years that I spent containing the damage that had spread across Hyrule, Hyrule had managed to get along without us – at least in terms of peaceful matters. The Hylians and other races who have managed their self-rule would, I imagine, be loath to give it up."

The King and his advisor exchanged looks. "And so…?" Dorephan prompted. "What role would Hyrule's royal family play today?"

"As an ambassador, of sorts," Zelda explained. "A uniting force among semi-independent nations. I will be frank: We do not have the resources to be rulers of this land. The old power of an empire is gone and I will not likely see it in my lifetime. It is my duty to be Hyrule's defender, as I was for the past hundred years. But in times of peace, I wish merely to help my fellow monarchs and their relations with each other; not to act in dominion over all. Besides…Link has told me all about the threat of flooding Vah Ruta posed upon his return, and how much you helped him, and your concern for the rest of Hyrule."

King Dorephan glanced at the stunned Muzu, and burst into laughter. "Your style is indeed different than your father's!" He said as he struggled to contain his mirth. "I wholeheartedly accept your proposal, Lady Zelda. We Zora will continue to assist Hyrule in any way we can."

Zelda nodded in reply. She did not disagree with everything her father had done. She still loved him, dearly, despite what he had put her through. But she also knew she would be a fool not to learn from his mistakes. The darkness in her heart was reflected in those of others that had chafed under her father's rule; it did not take much for her to see their point of view. And regardless, her broken throne could not support the weight of an entire nation anyway. Better to share the trials as well as the power.

"So, Lady Zelda, if I may be so bold," King Dorephan asked, breaking her out of her reverie. "May I ask who will accompany you on this throne of ambassadorship?" He broke into a grin. "Would it be the young man who has been your companion so far?"

"I...it would, if he would take it," Zelda stammered, not prepared for this question. "He may prefer to be more active in traveling across the land. In any case, it is his decision to make. He is my companion and knight, yes, but I would not dream of forcing him by order."

The King chuckled. "Very different indeed. I see a bright future under your vision, Lady Zelda."

* * *

"…so I said to him, if that Lynel is still there, we'll have to take care of it! I can shoot an arrow as far as any Lynel, so all I have to do is stay out of his range! And of course it can't follow me into the reservoir. A little bit of back-and-forth over time and it's done. Problem solved. So what have you been doing?" Prince Sidon suddenly demanded, finally ending his long monologue.

"I came to ask you," Link began hesitantly. "About Mipha."

The Prince's eyebrows – or rather the protruding cartilage where they would have been – shot up. "Oh? You still don't remember?"

Link frowned. Talking to Sidon was like rolling a boulder downhill; once started, he would go on for a very long time. The hard part was that initial push. "She was…very fond of me. But I don't remember…feeling that way about her. I feel bad."

"Ah." A knowing look filled the prince's eyes, and he nodded several times. Clasping his hands behind his back, he looked out over the reservoir, and Link gave an inward sigh of relief as he sensed a speech coming on. "My sister…she did love you dearly, but there were some other things wrapped up in it that neither you nor my father know about."

He nodded toward the motionless form of Vah Ruta. "Although Mipha preferred healing, she was also a capable fighter. All our people admired her…especially me." He smiled briefly. "I adored my elder sister. I wanted to be just like her. But…she was not terribly fond of me."

Sensing Link's confusion, Sidon said, "Oh, yes, Mipha was kind to everyone – didn't have a malicious bone in her body – so at first I thought her attitude toward me was just the same as any older sibling. Lots of other kids my age had it the same way – their older brothers and sisters didn't want a needy little pest following them around. So I decided that I would make myself as strong and capable as she was. And then she would have to notice me."

Prince Sidon shook his head ruefully. "I spent every moment of the day learning, training both my brain and my body. And to all that I added a third dimension – a positive attitude!" He gifted Link with one of his trademark grins. "I wanted to believe that I could do anything if I tried hard enough – and I passed that on to my people. But…" he sighed. "All the effort in the world wouldn't help me. You see, I _was_ the problem."

He nodded at Link's quizzical expression. "Yes, I know. I myself did not find this out until after she fell in battle. It works like this…you Hylians, you inherit your rank and title through the father, correct?" Link nodded. "Yes, so it is with all the races of Hyrule…except the Gerudo, who rarely see a male among them. You see, my sister was strong and smart from the beginning, and would have inherited the throne…if I had not been hatched." The Prince shook his head. "That is how the laws of my people work. And you saw how hard it was for me to bend them…even with catastrophe barreling down upon us.

"Of course, my sister never held this against me. How could she blame me, for merely existing? But it drove a wedge between us. When our father switched from preparing her for the throne , to preparing her to be a bride, she began seeking an outlet. And she found two of them. The first one was you."

"Oh yes!" Sidon laughed as Link stared at him. "Oh, she was taken with you from the beginning. The reckless child that jumped headfirst into danger, always willing to help others without a thought to his own safety. She wanted to be that way herself, but even if she wouldn't become Queen, we still couldn't lose her to a silly risk. So she settled for living vicariously through you. And when the time came to choose a mate…well, she wanted a warrior. Still…" Here the Prince's jolly expression turned somber.

"I think my sister somehow knew that she would not live very long. So it did not matter to her that Hylians only live half as long as Zora. I think, ultimately, she believed you both would die in battle. So she started on that armor quite early. And then…"

Prince Sidon paused. "And then King Rhoam came to Zora's Domain. Himself, in person, with the young Princess. Both my father and I could see the thrill in her eyes when she laid them upon Vah Ruta. Imagine – commanding a fantastical beast of war! Oh, how she and my father argued! To her, Vah Ruta was a dream come true; to my father, a nightmare. But King Rhoam had spoken. And even my father could not deny the skill that Mipha had in piloting the creature, as if it had been built for her."

"And then…" The prince fell silent for a while, the two of them merely staring out at the silent Divine Beast. "Well, you know the rest of the story. But! Here is my point…my sister loved you dearly, but she knew it was not her fate to be with you." Prince Sidon clapped a hand on Link's shoulder. "You should not feel bad, if your heart is not with her, if it rests with another. Mipha merely wished to be with you as long as she could, to see the world through your eyes, to share in your trials." He sighed, and Link could sense just a hint of bitterness in his voice when he said, "It must be a beautiful thing, to both know and wholeheartedly accept your destiny."

Link nodded. It was a sentiment he knew all too well. "Thank you, Prince Sidon, for speaking with me."

The Prince wiped the frown off his face with a flourish. "My pleasure! Feel free to come back, my friend, especially if _you_ want to do any of the talking!"


	3. Chapter 3

The pair headed next for Hateno Town, with Kakariko to follow afterward. Link wanted to ask Purdah if there was any way to accelerate the return of his memory, and Zelda wanted to see Impa again.

"I have to warn you, both Impa and Purdah look nothing like how you remember them," Link told Zelda with a grin.

Zelda turned to him in surprise, causing her horse to nicker in puzzlement. She patted it absently. "Well, I suppose both of them are much older..."

"Just Impa. Purdah looks younger. Some experiment of hers went wrong..."

Zelda sighed, and Link could tell she was fighting the urge to roll her eyes. "Still performing unsanctioned experiments, I suppose that at least hasn't changed..."

"Not really anything right now to sanction it," Link pointed out. He was feeling good. Prince Sidon's assurances had gone a long way to help his mood. "Except maybe her 'little' sister. I suppose you could order her to stop though."

"I don't see a problem with her experiment, I just worry about her using herself as a test subject. And I..." Suddenly Zelda fell silent, and stopped her horse.

Link had been expecting this. He too reined in his horse, and looked out over the scarred plain in front of Fort Hateno. He had been back and forth down this road so many times, both before and after the last battle here, that the Guardians buried in the sandy ground no longer gave him the chills.

But Zelda looked pale, and he could tell she was reliving that day over again in her mind. "They can't hurt you any more," he offered softly.

Tears rolled openly down her face, and she struggled to get down from the saddle as her horse fidgeted nervously. He helped her down and she sat on the ground. "It's because of me that everyone suffered. If I hadn't taken so long..."

Link had been expecting her to react, but not like this. "There's nothing you could have done differently. I don't blame you for anything."

She wiped her eyes. "But you remember, don't you? You can't tell me it doesn't affect you."

Link thought for a while, reflecting. "I remember a lot of pain, yes," he said slowly, then shook his head as her lip began to tremble. "But I was never upset with you. Mostly..." Here he clenched his fists. "Mostly, I remember being angry at Ganon..."

* * *

It seemed like they had been running forever. The rain that soothed their wounds also made the grass slick and tripped them, reopening half-healed scabs. Link wanted to feel sad that they had lost the other Champions, that they had lost their home, and would soon lose everything.

But he didn't feel sad. He felt angry.

It wasn't a sullen anger. It was a righteous fury, and it fueled his flagging limbs and pressed him onward. He held his sword in a white-knuckled grip, and he could hear it sing in triumph when he brought it down on any foe that dared cross his path.

They broke into a clearing and he could see a pack of Guardians wandering mindlessly, scorching the earth for no other purpose than to let it burn. His heart blazed and his sword shone. He hacked off their legs and left them sitting there, trying to burn holes into the hills with their eyes.

More appeared in front of him, as if they could hear the cry of his soul and responded like wolves to a kill. He hacked his way through them, holding Zelda's hand as tightly as he held the sword. They targeted him, they always targeted him, as if they knew who he was and selected him specially for destruction.

He saw it before he felt it; the first chip in the sword. He stared stupidly at it for a split second, then went back to slicing his enemy. But now they were no longer being scratched. Link could feel his heart flutter in his chest, as he finally noticed the gouges in the blade and the blood streaming from his own.

He realized he could only see what was in front of him. And that he was very, very out of breath. He couldn't get more air in his lungs. Each breath left his body quicker than he could get a new one in. Dimly he could sense Zelda kneeling next to him. Why didn't she run? He could give her a little time, more if they could find some small space to barricade themselves in. It occurred to him that under the right circumstances, even his corpse could serve as an obstruction.

Then one loomed up over the broken forms of the others, scanning slowly, casually. Link stood and positioned himself firmly between the Guardian and Zelda. The Guardian's target fell on his chest and it occurred to him, with a kind of detached surprise, that he was about to die.

Before he could do anything, raise his sword, pray to the Goddesses, even move to the side, Zelda stepped in front of him. And before this act could even register in his mind, a bright light engulfed them all. The light washed over him like a hand caressing a feverish face, and somehow he knew – he didn't know how he knew, but he knew – that Zelda was safe.

He collapsed to the ground as relief swept through him. He felt himself being lifted up, was aware of a voice speaking to him, but slowly that all faded away...

* * *

"You're not to blame," Link said firmly. "Only Ganon is to blame."

Zelda nodded, but he could see her heart was not in it. He coaxed her back into the saddle and made their way through the valley as quickly as possible.

* * *

"Well, if it isn't Linky! And...oh!" Purdah dropped her childish manner as she and her assistant both kneeled before Zelda. "Your Highness...thank you for returning to us," she said so formally that Link felt taken aback.

"Purdah...I am pleased to see you looking...well..." Zelda said unsteadily, and Link could see that she was trying very hard not to laugh. He wondered what Purdah had looked like before her grand transformation.

Purdah leaped to her feet and winked, apparently deciding that the formalities were over. "Not bad, huh? A hundred years of research has to yield at least a few results. Well, what brings you here? Have you spoken to my sister yet?"

"We came on Link's behalf," Zelda said, nodding to him.

"Purdah...I want to know if there is any way to restore the rest of my memories," Link told her, getting straight to the point.

He had expected her to snap her fingers, and present some clever theory, or at least wheedle more rupees out of him. Instead, her face fell, and she glanced at her assistant in a kind of embarrassed agony. "Um...I...I don't think that's possible, Link."

"Why not?" both Link and Zelda asked at once.

Purdah picked at her fluffy girl's dress. "Your Highness, I wish I could be more helpful in this, but..." She turned from Zelda to Link. "You may never get all of your memories back, Link. You see...you were dead." She blinked and waited for this to sink in. "You died."

Confused, Link said, "But I'm fine now. The Shrine of Resurrection..."

"That's why it's _called_ the Shrine of Resurrection," Purdah cut in. "That's it's purpose...to bring back those who died, but under only very special circumstances..." She gestured to her assistant, then pointed to a thick volume far out of her reach. "That one...yes, bring it here."

She spread the book out on the table and pointed to the Shekiah glyphs on one of the pages. "We all know the ancient knowledge of our ancestors goes far beyond what any of us could ever imagine. It strains even _my_ intellect to comprehend how far they had come. Here they listed out the conditions required to use the Shrine of Resurrection, and with it some medical theory..."

She paused as she scanned the letters. "It's hard to explain...but the ancient Shekiah believed that death came in stages. Let's say a person's heart stops beating, as yours did, Link. Outside these pages, anyone would say that the person is dead, gone beyond reach. But here..." She squinted again, as if not completely sure herself what the book was telling her. "It says that the mind, the brain, is still alive even after the heart stops...and if the heart can be restarted, the person can live again...but depending on how long that takes, the lack of blood...blood to the brain...will make it die off in parts. Too much and the person can't function at all. It's really lucky that it's only your memory that's affected..."

Zelda looked at Link; she could tell from his face that he wasn't feeling lucky, though few others would have picked up his mood from his expression. "Is there no hope at all?"

"Oh, I'm sure you can regain more memories in time," Purdah assured them. "But you can't count on getting them all back..." She sighed as Link gave her a beseeching look. "I'm afraid many of them will be gone forever..." She patted his hand. "Please try not to be sad. It was a great effort on our part to make sure you got to the Shrine of Resurrection at all..."

* * *

Purdah lifted the limp soldier in her arms, Robbie standing guard beside her, as Impa received last-minute instructions from Zelda. "All right, let's go," Impa ordered, and the three Shekiah sprinted off together.

"What about Her Highness?" Purdah demanded, watching the Princess fade to a white dot behind her.

"Her Highness has her own destiny to meet," Impa said grimly. "What she faces now is beyond any of us."

Before either of them could reply, someone called out to them. "Oy! Turn away to the westward side! The traitors are here!" A Shekiah girl, barely into her teens, caught up to them and gesticulated wildly. "At least of dozen of them! They've taken out half of our...Goddesses, is that the Hylian Champion?!"

Without answering, Impa turned to Purdah. "How is he? Do we have any time to spare?"

Purdah shook her head. "He already had no pulse when I picked him up."

Impa turned to the girl. "We must get to the shrine of last resort." With the traitorous clan so near, Impa switched to the structure's code name. Not even all the Shekiah knew about it. "We're going through. Gather up any that are left and form an escort."

"Understood!" Wide-eyed, the girl doubled back.

A few moments later the first arrow whistled over their heads. "Robbie, return fire!" Impa called out.

"You don't need to tell me!" He shot back, an arrow already nocked to his bow.

More arrows whizzed past. "Damn those traitors!" Impa snapped in an uncharacteristic show of rage. "They must be behind Ganon's return...there's no way it could have seized control of the Guardians on its own!"

"No time for that now!" Robbie snapped. One of the Yiga had caught up; Robbie loosed his arrow into the traitor's chest before it could even raise its weapon.

More Shekiah appeared and closed the distance around them. "What orders, Lady Impa?" an older man with a scar on his right cheek demanded.

"We're bringing the Hero to the Shrine." Several gasps echoed through the group. "Keep in line, all of you! Purdah has the main assignment. The rest of us need to both escort her, and if possible, eliminate all of the Yiga after us. It's to our benefit if the enemy believes Link to be dead."

"Understood!" the Shekiah cried as one.

They fanned out behind Purdah, Impa, and Robbie, forming a half-circle. Purdah gripped the Hero's body tightly as she pushed herself even faster. Impa drew her short blade. "Ready, Robbie?"

He gave her a grim smile. "I've been waiting to test out some of my new weapons." He lifted an odd-looking arrow to his bow. "They were meant for Ganon, but I'll let his minions demonstrate for me how well they work."

Impa opened her mouth to reply, but it was too late. The enemy was already upon them.


End file.
